1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plastic bags used to transport products such as food from a retail establishment such as a grocery store, delicatessen or restaurant and, more particularly, to a system and method for facilitating the opening of a plastic bag to permit the insertion of the product.
2. Description of Prior Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Disposable bags made of thin, flexible sheets of transparent plastic, such as polyethylene film, are well known in the art and commonly used in retail establishments such as grocery stores, delicatessens, restaurants to package and protect food products for transport by the customers. The bags are commonly distributed in sheets wound in a roll, connected end to end by perforation lines such that the individual bags they can be separated from the roll.
However, because of the nature of the plastic film sheets from which the bags are formed, the sides of the bag tend to stick together in the area proximate the mouth of the bag, making it difficult to open the bag to insert the product. In order to overcome that problem, plastic bags have been manufactured with exterior embossed surfaces to increase the frictional engagement between exterior surfaces of the bag and the fingers of the individual inserting the product into the bag. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,574, U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,861 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0281489.
Although embossing the exterior surface of the bag to create an increased friction surface does facilitate the opening of the bag to permit insertion of the product to some extent, it does not solve the problem completely. There is still a need for an improved system and method for facilitating the opening of such plastic bags to a greater degree.
It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide a system and method for facilitating the opening of plastic bags.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for facilitating the opening of plastic bags which includes a plastic bag with an exterior increased friction surface section and a glove with an exterior increased friction surface portions situated at the locations where the glove engages the exterior increased friction surface section of the bag, such as at the tips of the finger potions of the glove.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for facilitating the opening of plastic bags wherein the exterior increased friction surface section of the bag is situated proximate the mouth of the bag.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for facilitating the opening of plastic bags wherein exterior increased friction surface sections are located on the front and rear surfaces of the bag, proximate the mouth.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for facilitating the opening of plastic bags wherein the exterior increased friction surface portions of the glove are adapted to engage the exterior increased friction surface sections of the bag.